Equality
Are Individuals in Any Way “Naturally” Equal?
Are we all born equal? According to what Thomas Jefferson wrote in the US Declaration of Independence,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Four score and seven years later, Lincoln said that,
“our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
That line is of course from the Gettysburg Address. I know that speech very well as I memorized it in my 4th grade history class in order to get an automatic “A” for the semester.
Every time I read the Declaration of Independence, tears come to my eyes. I imagine what it must have been like back then when our forefathers got on their boats and headed across the ocean to liberate themselves from tyranny. I think of what could have been going through their minds and that they would actually die for their beliefs to be free men. If you think about the essence of entrepreneurship, they truly helped develop that idea. After all, what is the essence of entrepreneurship? I believe it can almost be summed up in this saying, “You can not discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
That’s what our forefathers did for us. They lost sight of the shore, saying “give me liberty, or give me death.” I am so glad they made that promise and followed through with action. They had the belief that the creator created all men equal (and by “men” I of course mean women too!). They also understood that the people needed to respect that idea so they of course created the legislative branch of government. Unfortunately there was dispute as to which “men” were created equal but I think we’re getting that worked out as we get wiser as a nation.
Now back to the title of this post. Are individuals in any way “naturally” equal? I don’t believe we are equal in nature at all. No two people are the same. Some people are short, some are tall, some are yellow, some are black… you get the idea. No two people are the same… therefore, individuals are not “naturally” equal. I also think that it’s natural for people to want to rule other people. Imagine yourself on an island with 50 other people. Would you want to be the leader of that group? Would you at least want to be friends with the leader of the group? Or on the other hand, do you think that each person would just be helping each other survive and working in harmony? I would of course hope for the latter, but I can imagine that there would be a few “bad apples” in the group that would want to rule the others… because they could, at least for a while. Then I would assume that most of the other people would eventually get sick of it and try to overthrow the ones in power, stating “Give me Liberty, Or Give me Death!”
We have laws in place to protect peoples rights. We vote for the legislatures that are in office and they help to make the laws that the people want in order to protect our sovereignty. I couldn’t imagine not having the right to vote and to be a part of this great nation and this great process. If you are of voting age and have the right to vote, please help us keep people equal. You have a responsibility to use your power to vote and to use that power for the betterment of our society.
We are not “naturally” equal but so many of our forefathers died for us in order that we would be equal amongst each other. We continue the struggle every year. Our men and women in uniform train and are ready fight to the death in order to keep our nation sovereign. You have a right to the pursuit of happiness, you have the right to protect yourself and your family from bad people. We all here have the rights of US citizens unless we’ve done something so awful that we’ve lost those rights. If you haven’t lost your rights, please cherish them and fight for them… If you take your rights for granted and think they will always be there, you might just find them being taken from you and you could find yourself without a country. Make sure you stand up for your rights and vote, get involved in your community and the political process, and ultimately, make this country a better place than when you found it. Vote and change the world.
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Anessa...
how you not like to drink. Its cool unlike you...
Chris...
What would happen if McCain DOES become president!!!?? He does have an awful temper....